In a Family Way
by Angelsaurus
Summary: Momo's late night visit to Captain Aizen left her with more than just memories. Will a phony relationship with one of her best friends be enough to keep her paternity secret safe from Soul Society and from the Evil Overlord himself?
1. You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away

Free Talk- Well, I decided to start a new story. It's not totally planned out in my head, so I will have to make it up as I go along. I'm not sure what this means about how often I will update. In any case, I want to do a good job and not get wreckless because I am eager to finish (which I was a bit guilty of with my last story, "Bad Boy"). This story is mostly about the Aizen-Hinamori-Kira triangle, but Ichimaru and Rangiku will have roles to play in future chapters. Oh, and the rating is subject to change. I hope you enjoy it. Please tell me what you think.

**In a Family Way**  
By Miss Angel Maxwell

* * *

Chapter 1: You've Got To Hide Your Love Away

* * *

"Please! Save Captain Aizen! You have to save him!" Momo heard the words leave her throat in a desperate croak. She tried her best not to let so much emotion come through in her voice, not to squeeze her hands into tight, quivering fists, but it couldn't be helped. 

On the communication screen in front of her, Hitsugaya Toushirou shook his white head and curled his lip in disgust. "Hinamori…" he began.

But she cut him off, unable to bear any patronizing remark from him. "I know what Aizen is doing is bad, but he must have a reason! I bet Ichimaru is forcing him to do it!"

She sounded like a lunatic, she was sure, but she didn't care. Before she could express any more of her thoughts, however, General Yamamoto's large knobby hand shot out and covered her mouth and his lieutenant swooped down and began escorting her out of the room.

As she was being hastily scooted out the door, she could hear the General apologizing to her childhood friend over the communication screen. The door shut behind her before she could hear what excuse he offered for her behavior, but she assumed he would blame it on her ongoing recovery, having awoken from a coma just three days earlier.

"Will you be alright walking back to your home on your own?" the lieutenant asked in a very businesslike manner.

Momo nodded. "I'm not as fragile as everyone seems to think I am."

The lieutenant gave a noncommittal cough. "Very good, Lieutenant Hinamori. Oh," he added as he slid open the door to return to the General's side, "I believe Captain Unohana is going to stop by to see you this evening. Just to check up on you, I assume, nothing to worry about."

He stepped inside Yamamoto's office and closed the door again without even noticing the terrified look on the young woman's face.

_She's coming already? I thought I had more time! Shit!_ Momo thought words that she never spoke out loud. In that instant, she wanted to be home so badly, even though she knew that was where the Captain of 4th Division would come looking for her. She took off running, pumping her legs furiously as she sailed through the streets of Soul Society towards her home, with no clue what she would do when she got there.

Only after she had hurtled into her apartment, shut the door, and sunk to the floor in a panting, shaking heap did she realize that her hand had been clutching her stomach the whole time.

She knew the real reason Captain Unohana was coming to see her. It was the same reason she had pleaded with Hitsugaya not to kill Captain Aizen. And it was something that she wasn't supposed to know.

Unohana Retsu had no idea that Momo had regained consciousness in that hospital bed hours before her eyes opened and her body was able to move.

The memory was still vivid. Paralyzed in her bed, chest throbbing vaguely, Momo overheard every word of the whispered conversation between Unohana and her lieutenant, Kotetsu Isane.

* * *

"Are these the results of her tests? This seems like some sort of mistake, Captain. It must be. She's not really… Is she?"

"She is," Unohana confirmed in a gentle, concerned voice. "There's no mistake. Hinamori Momo is pregnant. It's not a common occurrence within Soul Society, but it's certainly not unheard of."

"How did she not lose it, though? She was stabbed through the chest and almost died. With the trauma she suffered and all the blood she lost, how could her body sustain the pregnancy?"

"Ah," the Captain said knowingly. "Don't underestimate the uncanny ability the female body has for protecting the life of its unborn child. This is just as true for soul bodies as it is for human bodies. Although…" Her voice was suddenly heavy with worry. "It might have been better if she had lost the baby."

At that moment, Momo had wanted to leap up out of her hospital bed and strangle Captain Unohana, no matter how well-intended her statement was. She wanted to throttle her, but her body wouldn't move, still completely immobilized by whatever anesthesia they had her on.

Lieutenant Kotetsu gasped in shock. "How can you say such a thing?"

Momo made a note in her head right then to be very nice to Isane next time she saw her.

"I didn't mean that to sound malicious," Unohana explained, "but there is truth to it. If the rest of Soul Society found out, you know what they would say. Don't tell me you never noticed what a _close_ relationship Lieutenant Hinamori had with her captain?"

"You mean… you think Aizen is the father?"

"I think it is possible. I'm not going to make any assumptions without thorough evidence. But most of Soul Society will. An eyewitness recounts seeing Hinamori enter Aizen's home on the night before he staged his murder, and another saw her exiting early the next morning, wearing the same clothes. That's enough for a lot of folks to go on."

"What do you think will happen to her if Aizen is the father?" Isane asked nervously.

"If Lieutenant Hinamori is carrying Aizen's child and he finds out about it, her life could be in grave danger. But…" She paused. "Once the Council finds out, their actions might be just as bad for her. If Hinamori becomes a target then Soul Society will become a target for harboring her. They know this."

"They wouldn't do anything cruel, would they?"

"That all depends on your definition of 'cruel.' The previous Council was entirely wiped out by Aizen and the new regime won't take any risks. I wouldn't put it past them to force Hinamori into exile, away from everyone who cares about her. There is no way she would be allowed to raise that man's child within Soul Society. They'd force her to give up her baby as soon as it's born, or worse, before. That is, only if Aizen is its father."

"And he might not be," said Isane hopefully.

"I pray that he isn't," Captain Unohana sighed. "I pray that young Momo does not have to face that kind of heartbreak. But, only she knows for sure. After she wakes up and is healthy again, I will have a private conversation with her. I will tell her that she is pregnant and I will ask her who the father is."

"And if it is Aizen?"

"We'll deal with that when we know. In the mean time, I want you to destroy any evidence of those test results. Nobody else can know about this."

* * *

Now Momo sat sprawled out on the floor of her home trembling, drawing in harsh, ragged breaths. She had spend the last three days in a state of numb shock, pretending that the conversation she had heard was all just a dream and that there was no baby growing in her belly. 

She thought she had more time. That's why she had appealed to Hitsugaya to save Captain Aizen. If everything could just go back to the way it was and Aizen was redeemed, then nobody would see any threat from the child inside her.

Pressing her hand more firmly against her stomach, Momo thought about just running away. She could leave right now, before Captain Unohana showed up, exile herself in advance. As she contemplated the viability of this option, her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her door.

With a nervous swallow, she rose to her feet, walked to the door and slid it open. Her eyes remained closed to avoid an immediate face-to-face confrontation.

"Momo," the visitor greeted. "Are you okay? You look like you're sleepwalking." It wasn't Unohana's voice.

Momo opened her eyes wide. "Izuru," she sighed in relief. "I'm awake. I'm fine. I… What brings you here?"

The blond shinigami smiled weakly. "I came to see you, of course. I heard you got out of the hospital a few days ago. Sorry I didn't come to see you sooner. I just thought I'd let you get settled back in your home. Is this an okay time?"

"Oh, um…" Momo was still a bit surprised by who her visitor was. "Yeah, you can come in. Not for too long, though, I…"

"Are you expecting company?" Izuru asked in his typical, awkward style. "I can come back another time if…" As his sentence trailed off he produced from behind his back a tied cloth bundle. "It's just some snacks and stuff, you know, for you while you're getting better."

Momo took the package, smiling. "Thanks, Izuru. Please, come in. I'm not expecting anyone," she lied.

He gave her what definitely seemed like a suspicious look as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "You look… terrible actually. I mean… not terrible. Tired. You look tired, Momo, and really anxious. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I've just got a lot on my mind right now."

"You mean… Aizen," Izuru said, avoiding Momo's eyes.

"Yeah," she said softly. Her hand had crept over her belly again, she realized, but she removed it before her friend noticed. "But that's not all it's about. Everyone is tense right now. I mean, we don't know what's going to happen. Renji and Toushirou and Rangiku, and those guys from 11th are all in the human world. It's just… scary."

"I know," said Izuru, finally looking up at her. "But things are going to get better. We can't lose hope."

Momo forced a smile onto her face.

"I really am sorry I didn't come to see you sooner," Izuru continued, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I just… I thought maybe… you wouldn't want to see me… after what I did, I mean. I feel _terrible_ over how I treated you." He clutched his uniform over his chest. "I put my loyalty in Captain Ichimaru over you, drew my sword against you."

"Izuru… don't," Momo said. "You don't have to. I know you didn't mean it. Ichimaru poisoned your mind."

Under other circumstances, Momo would have been very moved by her friend's apology and been eager to discuss the possibility that Ichimaru had poisoned Captain Aizen's mind as well. But her mind was too distracted this evening, squirming at the thought that any minute Unohana Retsu would knock on her door.

"You don't have to apologize about anything," she said hastily, hoping she could gently encourage him to leave without hurting his feelings or arousing any suspicion. "You know, um, I'm actually feeling a bit tired right now. Still recovering. I should probably go to bed soon. Thank you so much for the treats." She squeezed the bundle against her chest.

Kira eyed her seriously for a moment. "I'll let you get your rest. You sure you're going to be okay? Your eyes keep darting over to the door, and you seem scared somehow."

"Oh," Momo muttered. She was amazed that her friend had noticed eye movements that she herself hadn't. "I'll be fine, really. You can just…"

The inevitable, ominous knocking interrupted Momo's sentence, and even though she had been expecting it she still jolted at the sound. For a second or two she was paralyzed, sweating, and trembling on her feet.

"Are you going to get that?" Izuru asked.

"Yeah, I guess I should," she answered, her voice coming out much shakier than she intended.

Sliding open the door revealed Captain Unohana looking so serene that if Momo didn't already know what this visit was about she wouldn't have felt one bit nervous.

"Oh, hello Captain," Izuru greeted. "I guess you're probably here to check up on Momo's health. I'll just get going then. Momo, I'll talk to you later? Momo?"

She heard her friend's goodbye without processing it and gave no reply. Her eyes remained fixed in horror, staring right through Unohana's head, as Kira silently slipped out the door and closed it.

"Are you alright, Lieutenant?" the captain asked.

Momo blinked and looked at the older woman's face. "I hope so. Well, you tell me. You're the one who took care of me over the past few weeks."

"That's right," said Unohana. "Actually, I have come here tonight to talk about your physical condition. Could we maybe sit down?"

"I think I'd rather stand up," Momo said. "If that's alright with you. Is what you have to say really that shocking?"

"It might be, but I will get right to it. Lieutenant Hinamori, while treating your injury, I ran numerous diagnostic tests on your body. The results revealed that you are several weeks pregnant."

Momo did her best to appear shocked at hearing the news. "Pregnant? Are you sure?" she asked for added effect.

"Quite sure," Unohana answered. "Despite everything you went through, though, the baby appears to be healthy. Now I don't mean to be intrusive." She paused and looked at her patient very seriously. "But I feel it is my responsibility to ask you who the father is."

A voice inside Momo's head was screaming: _Think up a lie! Think up a lie!_ But she knew that whatever name she dropped would be thoroughly investigated in order to confirm her story. With no way out of the conversation, she could feel tears start to gather on the rims of her eyelids but she couldn't speak an answer.

"Lieutenant, if this is an unwanted pregnancy, there are measures that can be taken."

Unohana's statement, spoken very gently, caused Momo to blink in surprise, spilling little rivulets down her cheeks. "What? No… It's not unwanted."

"Momo," Unohana continued, touching the young woman's shoulder. "Is Captain Aizen the father of your child?"

"I… I…" Momo stuttered helplessly.

"No, he's not," a voice spoke from the doorway.

Somehow neither Momo nor Captain Unohana had heard the door slide open. Kira Izuru stood there, framed in the entrance with a defiant look that was totally unlike his usual self.

"Aizen's not the father of Momo's baby," he reiterated, striding over to her and wrapping his arms protectively around her shaking frame. "I am."

To be continued…


	2. Things We Said Today

Free Talk- Thank you for the wonderful feedback on chapter one. Those who have read my previous stories will know that I use different points of view between chapters and this story is no exception. Chapter two is from Izuru's point of view. Sometimes I wonder if switching POV makes my stories awkward or disjointed to readers. I just couldn't show everything that I need to though just one character. Also, I have retroactively changed the title for the first chapter to match this one (and all subsequent chapters). I've always wanted to use Beatles song for chapter titles and decided to go ahead and just do it. I hope chapter two is enjoyed. Please tell me what you think.

**In a Family Way**  
By Miss Angel Maxwell

* * *

Chapter 2: Things We Said Today

* * *

"Lieutenant Kira," Unohana said. She had an air of carefully restrained surprise about her.

Izuru's ears were filled with the pounding of his own heart as he waited for the first inevitable question, which he assumed would be why he had been eavesdropping on a private conversation. It wasn't.

"You're the father of Lieutenant Hinamori's baby?"

"That's right," he answered unfalteringly.

Captain Unohana turned her attention to the young woman in Izuru's arms. "Is this true?" she asked.

Izuru peered down at Momo, who looked as if someone had tossed a bucket of cold water in her face. "Momo?" he said, drawing her blinking eyes up to him for a moment. Inside his head he was thinking with all his might, _just go along with it_, as if he could communicate telepathically with her. _Just go along with it, Momo! Just go along with it!_

Somehow she seemed to catch on. "Oh, yes," she told Unohana. "What Kira… What Izuru said is true. He is the father. You see, Izuru… he's my boyfriend. We've been dating for months, so if I really am pregnant, it must be his. Well, ours… his and mine."

A sharp, discerning look crossed the captain's face as she scrutinized the couple. Izuru tightened his embrace around Momo, shifting one hand over her belly and causing her to emit an almost inaudible gasp of surprise. "You heard what she said. It's our baby." He cracked a small smile. "We're going to have a baby."

"If you're upset about his eavesdropping," Momo piped in, "I can understand. But really he was just worried about me. He saw you arrive and thought something was wrong."

"I am her boyfriend, after all," Izuru said, and for some reason it felt good.

"I suppose it's not a crime," Unohana said, her fingers delicately trailing down the long black plait across her chest. "You could have asked for him to stay, Lieutenant Hinamori."

"I didn't think that you'd allow it," Momo said shyly. "Besides, Izuru and I haven't told anyone that we're dating yet. We've kind of been keeping it a secret."

"I see," the older woman said thoughtfully. "I don't suppose either of you know that there are official procedures regarding romantic affairs between officers. You're supposed to divulge the nature of your relationship to your captains and to the Council."

"We didn't know," said Izuru, which was a lie. He was well aware of the rules and was fairly certain that Momo was, too. "Even if we had told our respective captains, neither of them is around now to vouch for us."

"I think it's a stupid rule," Momo added with a surprising amount of bite. "Who we date is nobody's business but our own."

"Ideally that's how it should be," said Captain Unohana. "But this is an official policy designed for the security and the smooth running of Soul Society. I didn't come up with it."

"Well, we can't go back in time and redo things by the rules," said Izuru apologetically. "But with everything that's happened and is still going on, is it really that big a deal?"

"I suppose you're right," Unohana said. " Whether or not you followed through with the proper bureaucracy does not change the fact that you two _are_ in love and having a baby _together_."

Upon finishing her oddly emphasized statement, she beamed Izuru a very strange smile and he felt suddenly very stupid. He had actually believed that he'd been fooling the Captain of 4th Division all this time. But Unohana, in all her shrewdness, saw right through him of course. She knew that he was lying and was going along with it.

"I can fill out the necessary paperwork for you if you want," she told them. "I won't tell anyone about the pregnancy, however. I'll leave it up to the two of you to make that announcement when and how you best see fit… perhaps after you have taken some time to enjoy your relationship publicly."

She was telling them how to avoid suspicion.

Momo wiggled slightly in Izuru's arms. "So uh, the pregnancy… Is it gonna be a huge scandal in Soul Society?"

The look on Captain Unohana's face melted slightly into a kind, motherly smile. "I don't think you need to worry about that, Lieutenant. The news might come as a surprise to just about everyone, but they'll be happy for you, both of you, especially your friends. You know, the birth of a child within Soul Society is a rare and wonderful occasion, very celebrated."

"Yeah, I've heard that," Momo said softly. "I don't want my… _our_ baby to be gawked at and fawned over, though."

"Well, you won't have to deal with that for at least a little while," Unohana said.

"We certainly don't have to worry about it tonight," said Izuru, optimistically.

"That's right," said the captain. "Tonight you two should just enjoy the good news together. I'm sure you have a lot to talk about. And with that, I think I'd best be on my way." She gave Momo a gentle pat on the top of her head and added, "I'll schedule another appointment with you in a few weeks." Then she stepped out the door as she spoke her final sentiments. "Goodnight Lieutenants Kira and Hinamori, and congratulations."

Izuru continued to hold Momo, both of them silent as they listened to the captain's footsteps fade into the distance. As soon as they had disappeared, Momo wriggled out of his arms and rounded on him angrily.

"What did you have to burst in here like that for?" she stammered. "You know you really put me on the spot there!"

"In case you forgot, you were already on the spot!" he replied sternly. "Momo, do you have any idea what would happen to you if it got out that you're pregnant by Aizen?"

Momo's mouth immediately gaped, like a fish that had been pulled from the water. "I… I…" she stuttered incredulously. "How did you…? What even makes you think that it's his?"

"I'm right, though, aren't I?" he asked in a calmer voice. "Aizen _is_ the father."

Looking anxiously down at her stomach, without even saying a word, Momo confirmed it, and all of the sudden Izuru felt very uncomfortable.

"You've been in love with him since the first time you met him," he said quietly. "I know that you wouldn't let any other man touch you." He paused a moment. "That's how I knew."

Momo looked up at him, still frowning. "Why were you listening outside my door anyways?"

"It's just like you told Captain Unohana, Momo. I was worried about you. How could I not be after seeing the look on your face when she showed up?" He stared at Momo, who didn't say anything, and something suddenly occurred to him. "Wait a minute… You were looking terrified before she even showed up. And your eyes… your eyes kept darting to the door. You already knew about this didn't you?"

The young woman's face scrunched up in a mix of defiance and guilt. Her voice when she spoke indicated more of the latter. "I regained consciousness a little earlier than Captain Unohana realizes. I overheard her talking to her lieutenant… about how I'm pregnant and how everyone will assume that Aizen is the father, and… and how if he is the father Soul Society will banish me and take my baby away." As she was speaking her voice had grown more scared and desperate and loud. "So to answer your question, yes! I _do_ know what would happen if word got out!"

"And what were you going to tell her when she asked about it?" Izuru snapped, just as loudly.

"I… I hadn't thought of that yet," Momo answered, shrinking slightly in response to his tone.

Izuru sighed. "That's why I burst in here. I didn't want those things to happen to you."

"Well I don't either," she said, looking down at her belly again. "But you still shouldn't have gotten involved. What if they find out you lied for me? I'll still lose my baby and you'll be in big trouble, too."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take for a friend," he told her, smiling. "I think Unohana already knows it's a lie." Momo gasped. "Don't worry, I'm pretty sure she's not going to tell anyone. She doesn't want anything bad to happen to you either. Everything will be fine if we just stick to our story."

A brief moment of silence followed before Momo released a pent-up sigh, her tense shoulders finally slackened, and she rubbed her temples gingerly. Closing her eyes and shaking her head she said wearily, "This is all such a big mess. And now I've got you tangled up in it."

"I got _myself_ tangled up in it," Izuru reminded gently. He waited a few moments and then reached out to touch her arm. "So, how did it happen?"

"You mean, how did I end up pregnant?" she asked.

"Yeah."

Momo rolled her head back and squirmed uncomfortably. "Kira, do you really wanna talk about that? I mean you already know how it happened." Her face was now scarlet. "He and I had sex."

The girl's bluntness, despite her embarrassment, took Izuru by surprise. Never would he have expected such unabashed use of the word "sex" from her, especially in regard to her dear Captain Aizen. He couldn't think of the words to respond with and could only stutter awkwardly. "Well… um…"

"Izuru," she sighed. "Heh. It's kind of funny that you jumped in like that. For as long as I've known you, you were always the one who tried to stop _me _from being impulsive."

He felt suddenly hopeful as she leaned close as if she were going to embrace him. But she stopped, just inches away from him, her face screwing up as if she had just been told some horrifying news. "I… I think I'm going to be sick!" she muttered, and clapping her hand over her mouth she dashed towards the bathroom.

Izuru sprinted after her and found her already bent over the toilet, emptying the contents of her stomach.

"You don't want to see this," she said miserably before continuing to heave.

"Here, let me hold your hair back," he said, pulling her stringy black bangs away from her face. His eyes were tightly closed and he was trying as hard as he could to ignore the hideous sound of her retching.

When it was finally over, she surfaced groggily, wiped her mouth on some toilet paper and stepped out of the bathroom with Izuru. "Uhhh… That was awful… I'm so sorry you had to witness that…"

"It wasn't that bad," he replied, though he was honestly very glad it was over. "I figure it's good practice for when we're out in public. I promise to be the best pretend boyfriend you've ever had."

Momo pouted. "I think you're taking this way too lightly, Kira. You know, you're not gonna be able to date anybody you actually want to because you'll have to fake like you're in love with me. And what if it's not enough? What if everyone expects us to get married, ya know, so our baby isn't illegitimate?"

The seriousness with which Momo expressed this, lower lip quivering, eyebrows furrowed, was inexplicably adorable to Izuru. She really seemed worried about what this arrangement would do to his personal life and he couldn't help wanting to ease her mind. After all, she had enough to worry about.

"There's nobody I want to date right now," he said, smiling. "So let's just take things as they come." Momo looked unconvinced. "And if it comes down to it, we'll just have to have a pretend wedding. And we'll get lots of pretend presents from all our pretend guests."

A smile emerged at last on her face. Then she suddenly and unexpectedly flung her arms around him in a tight hug and buried her face against his chest. "Thank you for doing this," she mumbled into his black uniform. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

Izuru stared down at the top of his friend's head as she sustained the embrace. After a stunned second or two, a certain truth sank into his brain and all of Momo's behavior made perfect sense. As much as she admonished his intervention after the fact, she had gone along with his lie and elaborated on it.

_She must have been so scared since she found out she's pregnant_, he thought. _Those dark circles under her eyes… how much sleep has she lost over this? She was scared that her baby would get taken away, but she really is gratefully that I stepped in. I guess she thought maybe I didn't really mean it or that I would back out…_

"Don't worry," he said soothingly, patting her on the back. "I'll stick up for you no matter what, Momo. You… You're my best friend. I won't let you be punished for something that isn't even a crime."

She pulled out of the hug and smiled gently at him, having left a damp spot on his clothes from where she had apparently been crying. Then she stepped away from him, walking over to a small, high window and pausing in front of it. Izuru just watched. She seemed strangely grown up for the first time since he'd met her.

Her large brown eyes were looking out into the night, their focus somewhere far beyond the stars. Both of her hands were pressed to her flat stomach. "Hopefully," she said in a quiet, longing voice, "you won't have to pretend for too long."

Even after everything the man had done to her, she was still in love with Captain Aizen. She still believed that he would return to her.

Izuru didn't mind pretending that he was her boyfriend, but he feared he wouldn't be able to do anything to help her when she realized, once and for all, that Aizen was never coming back.

To be continued…


	3. With A Little Help From My Friends

Free Talk- I realized after writing this chapter that I had to change the character listing for this story to just Momo, even though it is really a love triangle (or a more complex polygon). I hate that you can only pick two names and I'm still not really sure if this story is Aizen/Hinamori or Kira/Hinamori so I'm playing it safe. I'm actually not sure how the plot will go. That's why chapters will probably take some time. If I go off on a tangent and start something else it doesn't mean I have abandoned this story, just that I am stuck on thinking up the rest of the plot. I also increased the rating, not because this chapter is sexy, but because I know that future chapters will be. Thank you for the feedback on the first two chapters. I hope you like this one. Please, tell me what you think.

**In A Family Way**  
By Miss Angel Maxwell

* * *

Chapter 3: With A Little Help From My Friends

* * *

"Captain Aizen…" 

Momo heard her voice seep out in lusty tones as she traced her fingertips over the handsome contours of her captain's jaw.

"There's no need to be so formal now," he breathed into her ear.

She felt her whole body shudder as Aizen cupped her face in his large palm and brushed his thumb very lightly over her quivering lips. "Alright," she panted softly. "_Mister_ Aizen."

He tilted his head back and laughed exuberantly. When she nervously joined in, he silenced her with a rough, deep kiss and she melted against him helplessly.

"Mmm… Aizen…"

With one hand still on her cheek, he used the other to untie her sash and peel off her clothing with such ease one would think he'd undressed thousands of women before. Momo still felt special. Kissing her passionately, he lowered her onto his futon and began exploring her naked body with his hands and his lips, coaxing tiny moans from her throat.

"My Hinamori," he hummed possessively as he kissed her between her breasts. She gasped as the wet, warm tip of his tongue caressed the ridge of scar tissue that he had given her and her heart pounded furiously. "I'm sorry to have hurt you, my precious Hinamori. But now you are marked, mine forever."

His kisses moved further down her body to where his breath heated her belly. "That's…" she started.

"Our baby," he finished, pressing his soft lips against her skin. "I'll never leave either of you again."

She laced her fingers into his wavy brown hair, pulled his head back up to hers and kissed him deeply. Her hands traveled quickly down to his hakama and began tugging them off zealously. Badly as she ached to wrap herself around him, she stopped for just long enough to pluck off his glasses and look into his eyes. He had such beautiful brown eyes.

"Aizen," she whimpered. "Make love to me." Then she gasped in pleasure as their bodies joined together.

Her arms encircled his muscled torso like boa constrictors, tying her small body to his, and she moaned against his shoulder as he groaned her name with each thrust.

"Momo! Momo! Momo!"

"Momo… Momo?"

Her eyes flickered open and came into focus on a thin blond Shinigami who was standing over her, speaking her name.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Of course," she said, lifting her head up from the desk she had been napping on and straightening up in her chair As she blinked the remaining sleep from her eyes, the details of her surroundings became clearer. "I don't normally fall asleep in the library," she added quickly. "I just had to finish some really boring paperwork."

"I can see that," said Izuru. There was a tiny smile on his face, like he was trying hard to repress a laugh, and it took Momo several seconds to realize that there was a sheet of paper stuck to her face with drool. She pulled it off quickly and tried to act as if nobody had noticed.

"You looked really peaceful," Izuru said. "I almost didn't want to wake you up. Were you dreaming about something good?"

Momo scrunched up her nose and forehead as she tried with all her might to recall. "I can't remember what it was about," she said. "But I think it was really good. Heh, must have been really exciting. My heart's still racing."

As Momo thought hard, now even more eager to remember her dream, the sound of gossipy female whispers drifted over from a small cluster of Shinigami nearby.

_"Can you believe the two of them are dating? Apparently it's been going on in secret for months. They just decided to go public a couple weeks ago, though."_

"_Yeah, I've seen them holding hands a lot. They're kind of a cute couple I think."_

"_Hmph. Well he's cute. He's the reason I wanted to be in 3__rd__ Division. I didn't realize he was into that kind of doe-eyed cutesy chick, though. Personally, I think he deserves much better."_

_"Maiko, that's so mean. You used to idolize Lieutenant Hinamori."_

_"That was before she got her claws on Lieutenant Kira. My opinion of her has totally changed."_

_"She right over there, she can probably hear you, you know."_

_"Oh, you're probably right. Let's go somewhere else."_

The giggling girls walked away, leaving Momo and Izuru alone, but their brief conversation had completely derailed her train of thought and left her feeling hot-cheeked with embarrassment.

"I get the feeling they meant for us to overhear that," Izuru said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "Sorry 'bout that."

"I'm the one who should say sorry," Momo sighed. "I guess I'm kinda ruining your reputation."

"Aw, don't say that. That's just one girl. And I wouldn't want to go out with her even if I wasn't pretending to be your boyfriend."

Momo pursed her lips. She decided it would be better not to tell her friend that quite a few female shinigami had begun greeting her with icy, jealous glares since the two of them came out as a 'couple.'

It made her feel strangely comforted when he touched her on the head, and she looked up at him with a grateful smile. "You really are the sweetest friend a girl could ever hope to have. You doing this for me and all. I mean, you're not even getting anything out of this arrangement."

"That's not true," he said, just barely blushing. "I get to spend time with a really nice girl."

"Aw, thanks," she said. "So what brings you here to the library? Were you looking for me?"

Izuru's face became very serious and restrained, as if he was trying to show no emotion in regard to the news he was about to deliver. He took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes. "They're back."

"They're… back?" Momo had to repeat the news as a question and watch her friend confirm it with a nod before the meaning sank into her brain. Her heart took on a galloping beat. "If they're back, that must mean… Do you think they…? Do you think he's really…?"

"I don't know," he answered her. " I just got a message from Renji that he would like the two of us, you and me, to meet up with him this evening for drinks with Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Matsumoto. I assume they're going to tell us everything that happened in the Human World."

"And why they're back so soon," Momo added tensely.

"Hey, don't worry so much," said Izuru. "We don't know anything yet."

She was sure that he knew she was worrying about Captain Aizen and that he didn't know how to comfort her. Even though they had spent their recent days together, talking and laughing and holding hands, one subject they still never discussed was Aizen.

"Yeah," she said softly. "Let's just see what they have to say."

She gathered up her scattered papers and scooted her chair out from under the desk, but when she tried to stand up she found her legs were still wobbly from being asleep and she staggered. Izuru caught her arm and steadied her.

"Careful," he said. "You wouldn't want to fall and have something happen to the… you know…"

"I know," she replied. "Heh, I hate to imagine how your fan club will react when they find out about that."

If the thing the two of them talked about least was Aizen, the baby was a close second. It was difficult to talk about the pregnancy without invoking Aizen when he had played such an integral part in the situation. Momo wanted to talk about Aizen and the baby, badly. Izuru was the only one who knew her secret and the only one she could talk to about it. But she didn't dare broach the subject herself and force it on him, not when he was doing her such a huge favor. Eventually they would have to talk about it, though. Her stomach wouldn't stay flat forever.

"They'll get over it," he said quickly as they walked out of the library holding hands. His hands were always so warm.

Momo didn't let go until they were standing outside of a well-hidden bar, the designated meeting spot. "I don't want to tell them right away," she explained to Izuru. "I know we'll have to eventually, but I don't want it to divert the conversation."

"That's fine," he said, and they entered side by side as friends.

Inside, the place was dimly lit and practically deserted except for a table in the corner where three Shinigami were already seated: a man with tattooed eyebrows and a wild red ponytail, a voluptuous strawberry blond, and a white-haired boy with a sour expression on his face.

"You made it," the redhead greeted. "Come on, sit down."

"Hey Renji," Momo replied with as much cheer as she could muster in her nervous state. "Hey Rangiku. Hey Shiro." She patted her childhood friend on his fluffy white head before eventually sitting down between Renji and Izuru.

"You look so much better than the last time we saw you," Rangiku said. "The dark circles under your eyes are gone. Doesn't she look great, Captain?"

"She does," Hitsugaya conceded with the tiniest smile. "You've been getting lots of sleep, right?"

"Uh huh," she answered. Indeed, her biological need for rest had cured her insomnia. Hitsugaya looked at her skeptically.

"It's true," Izuru testified. "When I went to go and get her she was sleeping in the library."

Momo shrank slightly in her chair. "You didn't have to tell 'em about that," she mumbled.

"Relax," said Renji. "Have some sake. There's food on the way, too. We have a lot to tell you guys."

Anxiously, Momo reached across the table for a cup of the liquor, but before her fingers even touched it she felt Izuru's elbow nudging her in the ribs.

"Momo," he said under his breath.

A small gasp squeaked from her throat when she realized what she had almost done and she withdrew her hand immediately. Apparently everyone else heard the noise, because their eyes were all now on her. "Uh… Captain Unohana said I shouldn't drink any alcohol until I'm fully recovered," she said. "I almost forgot."

"That sucks," Matsumoto said before emptying her own cup with a single gulp. "Nothin's stopping you, though, Kira. Drink up."

There was something strange about the way she spoke to Izuru, Momo noticed, the way she smiled at him. She seemed almost shy, which was very un-Matsumoto-ish, and Momo realized that she was already a bit tipsy.

"I… uh… I think I'll abstain tonight," he said. "I don't hold my liquor very well and I want to be completely lucid when you guys tell us what happened in the Human World."

"So, what did happen?" Momo asked cautiously. "You guys are back a lot sooner than I expected."

"Sooner than we expected, too," said Renji. There was an unmistakable growl of frustration in his voice.

"So it didn't go well?" Momo asked.

"We did all right against Aizen's Arrancar minions," Matsumoto said fairly.

"Minions?" asked Izuru.

"Yeah," Renji grumbled. "Aizen never even showed his face, the coward."

Momo felt a shameful swell of relief in her heart and tried not to sound too optimistic when she spoke. "You mean he's not…?"

"Aizen's still out there," said Renji. "And now he's kidnapped Inoue Orihime."

"What?" Momo squawked. "You mean that girl Shiro and Rangiku were staying with? What would Captain Aizen want with her? Are you… are you certain it was him?"

Renji snorted disgustedly. "Who else would it be? There's no question that Aizen is behind it. We just haven't figured out why."

"So is Soul Society going to take action?" Izuru asked. "After all, she's a human."

"They say they won't," Renji answered gruffly. "That's why they called us back. So we wouldn't go storming off to Hueco Mundo without a plan. Ichigo won't listen to Soul Society, though. He and his human buddies are gonna go after her. You better believe me an' Rukia will find a way to help them, too. She's talking to her brother about it right now."

"You're going to go to Hueco Mundo?" Momo asked.

"With or without permission," he confirmed.

Momo's insides squirmed uncomfortably, as if she'd swallowed a live fish. The days of passively waiting for Aizen to attack were over. Renji, Rukia, and those humans were going to infiltrate his headquarters to get their friend back, and, if they got the chance, they would kill Captain Aizen.

The desire to yell out, 'I'm going, too,' was so strong that Momo had to bite her lower lip to stay silent. There was no way she would be allowed to go in her condition. Even just expressing her wish to go would compromise the lie that was keeping her and her unborn baby safe.

"You'll be careful, right?" she asked. "You won't get yourselves killed?"

Renji's large hand came down on the top of Momo's head and patted her playfully. "Don't you worry your pretty little head about it," he said. "We'll be fine. Oh hey, the foods here."

Sure enough, a young woman wearing a flower print kimono and a wide smile had arrived with a large tray of food. "Welcome back," she said cheerfully. "Everyone is so proud of what you did in the Human World. Oh, and I see you've got the two lovebirds with you as well." She looked at Momo and Izuru as she put down her tray. "It's so great that you two have each other in such a scary time. Well, enjoy your meal." Then she disappeared back into the kitchen.

"Lovebirds?" Hitsugaya muttered, his eyebrows twitching slightly.

Momo felt like she had just been tossed into an icy river. The conversation had turned on her so fast she didn't have time to prepare for it. Everyone was looking at her and Izuru expectantly but she couldn't think of what to say. She just kept helplessly waiting for someone else to speak for her.

"The two of you are an item?" Renji asked with a coy smirk.

"Um, yes, actually. Me and Izuru, we… well, we're dating." No matter how many times she had told the story to casual acquaintances and strangers, lying to her friends was incredibly difficult and her tongue fumbled with the words.

After she'd spit it out, there was a brief silence that made her wonder if they'd actually believed her. Fearing their reactions, she grabbed a plate of shrimp and crammed as many as would fit into her mouth to excuse herself from further explanation.

Renji was the one who finally ended the weird lull. "Way to go, Izuru!" he burst out proudly. "So you finally worked up the courage to tell her how you feel. About time. You've been crazy about Momo since we were in school."

Immediately, Momo's face shot up from her plate to see her red haired friend grinning widely. "Whuh?" she asked through a mouthful of shrimp. She struggled to swallow and turned to Izuru. He looked paler and more anxious than ever. "Izuru, you had a crush on me when we were in school?"

He was clearly at a loss for words and once again Renji filled in the silence.

"A _big_ crush," he said. "I can't believe you're dating him and you didn't even know that. How long have you two been together?"

"About six months," Momo said sheepishly. "We've been keeping it kind of private until just recently."

"Six months?" Renji asked incredulously. "And you never knew about Izuru's crush? Never?"

The blond wriggled anxiously. "Do we really have to talk about this? That was years ago and it has nothing to do with our relationship now. So come on, let's just eat and hear more about you guys' battles in the Human World. That's way more interesting than me and Momo dating."

The clinking of plates and chopsticks followed as everyone began eating, but nobody was talking. While everyone else was distracted by their food, Izuru leaned over and whispered in Momo's ear.

"I got over it a long time ago. So don't… don't worry about it, okay?"

"Oh, of course not," she whispered back. A funny feeling crept into her stomach and she reached for more shrimp to fill it with. The lack of conversation made her even more uncomfortable for some reason so she decided to take some initiative.

"So, Rangiku, do you have any ideas of why Inoue was taken? You were staying at her home so you must have gotten to know her pretty well."

Matsumoto didn't answer, and when Momo looked over at her, she was stunned to see that the gorgeous woman looked absolutely miserable, slumped over the table with a gloomy expression on her face.

"I'm sorry," Momo said softly. "I didn't realize that it was such a sensitive question. You must have gotten really close to her. I didn't mean to make you sad."

The older woman forced a small smile onto her face. "Don't feel bad. I do believe that boy and the others will get her back safely. We have to have faith."

"Yeah," said Momo, though the mere mention of that mission made her worry about Captain Aizen again.

For a few minutes there was quiet until a disgruntled snort from Hitsugaya drew Momo's attention. The young captain's arms were crossed tightly in front of him and he was frowning so severely his facial features were quivering.

"What's wrong, Shiro?" Momo asked.

"Six months," he grumbled. "Six months… You could have told me, Momo."

"It wasn't just you," she told him gently. "We didn't tell anyone. It… it would have been weird. You're not really mad, are you, Shiro?"

"No," he huffed unconvincingly. "You're free to do whatever you want. There's one thing that doesn't add up, though. If you and Kira have really been dating for six months, how come I had to stop you two from killing each other?"

"Oh," said Momo. She had somehow forgotten about the fight that broke up between her and Izuru when she thought Ichimaru had murdered Captain Aizen. "Well, we did have a bit of a rough patch," she explained nervously. "But you have to remember that both our captains were manipulating us at that time."

"Drawing my zanpakutou against Momo is the worst thing I've ever done," Izuru added. "I'll never forget about it."

His voice sounded so sincere that Momo felt the hairs on her arms stand up.

"So you two were dating secretly for months, broke up, and then quickly got back together and went all lovey-dovey in public?" Hitsugaya asked skeptically. "That's kind of a shady story."

"Oh lighten up," Renji said, slapping the young captain on the back. "You're jealous because your best friend didn't keep you filled in on her love life, but their story makes sense. Everything that's happened lately made them put their love in perspective. That's why they got back together and started telling people. Right?" He laughed and added jokingly, "it's not like he knocked her up."

Momo nearly choked on her mouthful of food as every muscle in her body seized up at once. It took a full minute of violent coughing to clear her airway. Her friends were all watching with surprise and concern as she panted to catch her breath. "Went down the wrong pipe," she said weakly.

The stillness that ensued indicated that she was busted.

"It all makes sense," said Renji. "A suddenly public relationship, no booze, eating enough shrimp for at least two…"

"Momo, you're pregnant?" Matsumoto asked, her voice barely above a whisper and her face looking as if she'd seen a ghost.

Knowing that she couldn't say 'no' and then contradict herself latter, Momo answered. "Well… yes. I wasn't going to announce it yet. It's not that far along… But, yes, I am pregnant." She had to stop and take in a deep breath. "With Izuru's baby."

Without warning, Hitsugaya lunged across the table, knocking over the sake, and ferociously grabbed the front of the blond boy's uniform. "I'll kill you!" he roared. "I'll cut your head off!"

"Don't kill me!" Izuru yelped.

"Let go of him, Shiro!" Momo pleaded, leaping to her feet.

As she and Renji tried to pry the two apart, through the corner of her eye, Momo caught sight of Matsumoto running out the door with her hand over her mouth.

To be continued…


	4. Fixing A Hole

Free Talk- Chapter four picks up right where chapter three left off, but things will begin to progress I think. There's not much to say with this one. I might have a couple of different stories going soon. Don't be surprised if I post the first chapter of a Bleach AU fic sometime in the relatively near future. I won't give up on this story though. Thank you so much for the comments and support. Take care, and please tell me what you think.

**In A Family Way**  
By Miss Angel Maxwell

* * *

Chapter 4: Fixing A Hole

* * *

The bulging vein in Captain Hitsugaya's forehead was scarier than any Hollow Izuru had ever faced. Up to the moment when Renji and Momo wrenched Hitsugaya's fists open and pulled him away to a safe distant, the blond thought he might be living out the final moments of his life. 

"Are you okay, Izuru?" Momo asked him as she smoothed out his rumpled uniform.

"I think so," he said, though his hands were still shaking.

"Good," she sighed. Then she turned around and frowned at Hitsugaya. "There was no reason to act like that, Shiro. Apologize to him right now."

"Why should I?" the boy grumbled.

"He didn't do anything wrong and you threatened to kill him!"

"Didn't do anything wrong?" Hitsugaya squawked incredulously. "He got you pregnant!"

"And I let him," Momo said emphatically. "It takes two people you know."

"Yeah, don't give Kira all the credit… er, blame," Renji chuckled, which he seemed to immediately recognize as a mistake as Hitsugaya flashed him an intimidating scowl.

"Stay out of this, Abarai," he barked, brandishing a pointed finger at the redhead. "And _you_…" He turned his finger on Izuru but Momo grabbed it, stopping him from saying whatever horrible accusation he was about to.

"Stop it!" she said firmly. She lowered his hand but still held onto it and continued in a gentler tone. "Look at me, Shiro. Look at me."

Izuru watched in amazement as the boy's enraged face softened looking at Momo, though he still didn't look happy. "So when are you two getting married?" Hitsugaya grumbled.

"What? We're not getting married," Izuru said, and as soon as the words were out of his mouth he realized it was a very wrong answer.

The vicious fire in Captain Hitsugaya's eyes had reignited full blast. "You're not even going to marry her? You disgusting bastard! You…!"

Once again Momo intervened, grabbing Hitsugaya from behind in something between a capture and an embrace just in time to stop him from lunging again. "Calm down, Shiro," she said firmly. "Izuru asked me if I would marry him, but I said no. I'm the one who's not ready yet."

The ease and comfort with which Momo delivered the lie stunned Izuru and all he could say was, "yeah, that's right," in an airy sort of voice.

Hitsugaya turned around in Momo's arms and looked up at her. "So, you're really okay just having a baby together and not getting married? You're really happy?"

Momo nodded. "There might be marriage somewhere in the future, but right now I'm just happy to be carrying the man I love's child. And I do love him, with all my heart."

Only Izuru knew that it was the traitor Aizen and not himself who she had just proclaimed her love for. The story did seem to satisfy Captain Hitsugaya, however, who finally sat back down and pulled a plate of vegetables in front of him. With a relieved sigh, Izuru's shoulders relaxed and he mopped sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

"So, can I trust you to behave while I go find Rangiku?" Momo asked. "She ran out of here just a few minutes ago, looked like she was crying."

"Go right ahead," Hitsugaya said, and when Izuru looked over at him he could tell from the boy's face that he hadn't noticed Matsumoto's absence either. Both of them exchanged sheepish looks as Momo dashed from the restaurant.

"What do you suppose she was crying about?" Renji asked curiously.

"I have no idea," said Hitsugaya, who seemed dazed.

Izuru looked away. "Me neither," he mumbled. Hazy memories of that drunken evening after Aizen's rebellion were filling his head and making his chest feel tight and uncomfortable. He was afraid anything he might say would seem conspicuous, so he took some food and began eating in silence along with the others.

When Momo returned with Matsumoto, she had her hand on the older girl's back and was talking to her in a soft, sympathetic voice. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about what's wrong?"

"Don't worry about me, Momo," she said sweetly, dabbing her eyes with the end of her pink sash and sitting down next to her captain. "All you should be thinking about is having a healthy baby, not my problems."

"But I want to help you feel better," Momo pleaded.

Matsumoto smiled gently at her. "Maybe I'll tell you about it later. But at least don't worry about it tonight."

A hard lump suddenly formed in Izuru's throat and when he spoke the words were strangled. "Um… You guys… Could you not tell anyone else about what you found out tonight? We're just… we're not quite ready to make an announcement about… about the baby."

"Not ashamed, are we?" Hitsugaya asked with a suspiciously raise eyebrow.

"Of course not," Momo said. "We just want to wait until it's a little further along."

"That's probably a good idea," Matsumoto said in a strangely soft voice. "There are more things that can go wrong early on."

A tiny squeak of horror came from Momo and Izuru, out of some inexplicable instinct, reached for her hand under the table. He wasn't the only one who noticed her fear.

"It's not very likely that anything will go wrong," said Matsumoto waving her hands as if it would undo the damage she'd cause. "I just meant… In the rare event that it… that it goes away… you won't have to make a big announcement and share your tragedy with all of Soul Society. But I don't think that will happen. It doesn't happen very often."

"Oh," said Momo, sliding her hand out of Izuru's. "You know a lot about pregnancy?"

The older woman closed her eyes and nodded vaguely. "As much as most women do, which is more than just about every man. If you ever want to talk about it, you can talk to me."

"Thank you, Rangiku," Momo replied, her voice filled with gratitude.

Another twinge of guilt shot through Izuru's body and he tossed down a glass of water to try and extinguish it. Around him the others resumed eating in peace, but he didn't have much of an appetite. Across the table, Captain Hitsugaya fired a nasty look at him and an instant later Momo was pressed against him, her arms wrapped defensively around him. Hitsugaya seemed to take the hint and looked back down at his food.

Momo continued to hold onto Izuru and his heart beat faster. It wasn't until the meal was all but finished and Renji commented, "I guess she didn't get enough in the library," that he realized she didn't let go because she had fallen asleep.

"I think I'm going to take her home," he whispered. Very carefully he eased himself out of her embrace and hoisted her up on his back, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding onto her legs. "Goodbye, all of you. Thank you for the food and everything you told us. Renji, you'll keep us informed about any new developments?"

"Alright," the redhead said, looking at Izuru and Momo with an amused smile. "You take care."

"Don't you dare drop her," Hitsugaya grumbled sternly.

The last thing Izuru heard before he walked out the restaurant door, Momo on his back, was Matsumoto's voice. "Goodbye, Kira."

Despite her small size, Momo was surprisingly heavy and by the time Izuru reached her home his posture was beginning to sag beneath her dead weight. He was amazed that he was able to free a hand and get her door opened without dropping or jostling her. She remained utterly asleep while he carried her back to her bedroom and laid her down on her futon.

Once he'd pulled a blanket over her, Izuru was struck with the sudden realization that this was the first time he had ever been inside Momo's bedroom. He felt embarrassed and exhilarated at once.

It was a small room without much in it, but the few decorations that were there were undeniably Momo. A small glass bud vase containing two white flowers was set up on the sill of a single window where moonlight poured in. Against one wall was the only piece of furniture, a large chest of drawers, and on top of it were several framed photos. One was of Momo, Renji, and himself on the day they graduated from the Shinigami Academy, another of her and Captain Hitsugaya in summer kimono. The last frame was empty.

He watched her chest rise and fall under her blanket, which was patterned with the same bellflowers that were the Fifth Division's insignia. When he looked at her peaceful face something else caught his eye, an object protruding from underneath her white pillow. He knelt down and carefully pulled it out.

It was a book, _A Guide to Healthy Pregnancy_, and there was a piece of paper stuck inside as a bookmarker. Even though it was none of his business, Izuru opened it up to see what page she was on and found that she was in the middle of a chapter titled The Third Month.

_That's about how far along she is. I wonder where Momo even got this book. She must have smuggled it out of the library._

With the suddenness of a bolt of lightning strinking, understanding hit him and he knew why she had sounded so happy when she thanked Matsumoto. His insides burned with shame.

_All these weeks she must have wanted someone to talk to about being pregnant. And I made her too afraid to talk to me, the only one who knew, the only one she could have turned to. I should have been the one to bring it up. I should have asked her how she felt. I…_

"Mrrrmm…"

Without warning, Momo mumbled and stirred in her sleep, startling Izuru so badly that he dropped the book. He caught it before it hit the floor, but the bookmark fluttered out, and when he picked it up he noticed for the first time that it wasn't a piece of paper but a photograph of Captain Aizen that was missing from its frame. He slid it back into approximately the right place and tucked it back under her pillow.

"Nnnn… Captain Aizen?"

Izuru was still crouched over Momo when she said it and he froze in his spot, watching her face. "No, it's me," he said softly.

Her eyes fluttered open. "Oh… It's just you, Izuru…"

"Yeah, it's just me. You fell asleep at the restaurant so I carried you home."

"That was very nice of you," she said with a sleepy smile. "You're so thoughtful."

"No, I'm really not," he sighed. "Momo, all this time I've been pretending to be your boyfriend… I should have been more sensitive to what you were feeling. I mean… you must have a lot on your mind with the baby and… and Aizen."

"Izuru," she said, her brown eyes fixed on him, her voice barely above a whisper.

"You can talk to me," he said, "about anything. I… I just wanted you to know that."

She didn't say anything, just nodded, unshed tears sparkling on the rims of her lower eyelids. In that instant, Izuru had an inexplicable urge to kiss her and he felt a hot blush creep into his features. But the thought of Momo's lips on his, which he couldn't banish from his imagination, dredged up a vivid memory that had been lost in a drunken haze.

"I'm gonna leave you and let you get your rest," he said, masking his heightened anxiety as best he could. "I will see you tomorrow morning. Sweet dreams, Momo."

"Well, I'm going to change and brush my teeth before I go back to sleep," she said, smiling. "But sweet dreams to you, too, Izuru."

Looking away shyly he added, "Thank you for telling Captain Hitsugaya that I proposed to you."

Then, before she could say anything more, he leaned over and gave her an innocent kiss on the forehead, and it made his heart flutter strangely. Without stopping to wonder what it meant, he exited Momo's apartment and headed for another woman's home, his steps getting quicker and quicker as he made his way through the Seireitei. When he found the door he was looking for he knocked nervously and it slowly slid open.

"Oh, Kira… What are you doing here?"

"I have to talk to you, Lieutenant Matsumoto," he said. "May I come in?"

"Uh, sure," she answered, pushing her long hair behind her ear. She had changed into a soft pink kimono and seemed subdued, ready for bed, but she let him in anyways. "What's going on? Is something wrong?" Her voice took a sudden frightened pitch. "Is Momo alright?"

"She's fine," he reassured her. "I just need to ask you what happened when we were having drinks. When Momo said that she was having a baby, you ran out of the restaurant crying."

Matsumoto looked determinedly away from him. "Yeah, it… it really wasn't that big a deal. But, uh, what did you want to know."

The question he was about to ask felt like a chunk of hot coal in his stomach, but he took a deep, cooling breath and just said it. "The reason you were crying… I just want to know if it had anything to do with the day you and I got drunk together."

"What are you talking about?" she asked slowly, turning at last to look him in the eyes.

"I'm talking about after Captain Ichimaru left Soul Society, when you and I got drunk. When we kissed."

To be continued…


	5. Run For Your Life

Free Talk- This is a chapter I have been wanting to write for a while, but I had to wait for the right place for it in the story. It's a little different from the previous pattern. By the way, this is the first time I've ever written from overlord Aizen's point of view, so I hope I did a good job with him. Now I need to do some brainstorming for the rest of the story. I hope you like the new chapter. Thanks for all the support so far. Please comment and tell me what you think.

**In A Family Way**  
By Miss Angel Maxwell

* * *

Chapter 5: Run For Your Life

* * *

"Mmm… Master…" A thin voice breathed into Aizen Sousuke's ear as an icy hand walked on nimble fingertips across his bare chest.

"Lord Aizen," a second voice hissed into the other ear.

Four arms and four legs writhed around him. Two sets of teeth nipped at his skin, leaving little indentations, but all he could do was grunt apathetically. "Lolly, Menoly, are you quite finished yet?"

The twin Arrancar looked up at their master with slavish expressions. "Is something wrong, Lord Aizen?" the light-haired one asked. "Aren't you enjoying yourself?"

"We can do anything you want, Master," the dark-haired one, Lolly, interjected. "Anything!"

"No, I've had enough," Aizen sighed. "Collect your clothes and leave my quarters."

In unison, the sisters let out haughty squeaks of indignation. "But Lord Aizen," Lolly began to say, but Aizen silenced her with a imposing glare. "I… I'm sorry Master," she said quickly, bowing her head.

"Your services are no longer required at this time," he said dismissively. "Go back to your own quarters."

Lolly and Menoly watched him imploringly, as if they could silently will him into changing his mind. Unfazed, he ordered them out of his bed with a mere narrowing of his eyes. Then he watched them get dressed and leave with a disinterest that bordered on annoyance.

Once alone, he sank back into his pillows and frowned. He was irritated and he didn't want to admit, even to himself, the real reason why. The bed-sessions with Lolly and Menoly, once an ideal, affectionless sexual release, now bored him terribly.

The only times the sex was even remotely interesting anymore was when he closed his eyes and imagined it was her who was wrapped around him. Their frigid flesh could never compare to hers, yielding and warm, and nothing they ever did could excite him like her small hand snaking into his loincloth to touch him for the first time. The mere memory was enough to arouse him.

Of course, Aizen would never divulge this to anyone. Despite being a proud man, he was not the sort to brag about his sexual conquests, most especially that of his former Lieutenant. But she was the only one that wouldn't leave his mind. She lingered in his thoughts and dreams even after he had killed her on his own blade.

He wouldn't let it interfere with his work, not when things were going so smoothly, so perfectly according to his plans. The human girl, Orihime, had come willingly to his palace and was now in his custody under the watchful eyes of Ulquiorra. Soon she would restore the Hougyouku to its original strength and he would be able to create Arrancar more powerful and terrible than any before them.

"_There are other uses for that human's powers. You know how it works."_

A voice that sounded exactly like his own was speaking silkily from somewhere deep inside his head, and not for the first time. He had long ago made up his mind to only use Orihime to restore the Hougyouku but that damn voice would not stay silent.

_"You could bring her back without harming the plan. She could be naked with you in bed…. laying here beside you, under you, on top of you…"_

He rolled over with an irritated grunt, but the silk sheets sliding against his naked body just reminded him of her skin. It seemed the only way he would get his mind off of her was to immerse himself in his work building the new world he envisioned. As he pulled on his hakama and shirt and jacket, he could feel his lieutenant pulling them off with nimble hands. He had never felt more eager to drown his mind in raw ambition.

Almost as soon as Aizen had clothed himself, the doors of his private quarters opened without a warning knock and a thin, fox-eyed Shinigami entered.

"I saw the twins leaving and assumed you weren't busy," he said with a particularly sly grin. "You kicked them out a lot sooner than usual. Are they losing their touch? Or perhaps you're just getting harder to please?"

Aizen gave him a contemptuous look. "Is that all you came to say, Gin? Because I really don't have time for…"

"Or perhaps," Gin cut in before he could finish, "you're thinking about Miss Hinamori. Hmm?"

Anger sparked in the pit of Aizen's chest but he had enough self-control to hide it. "Ah, my dear Gin," he said smoothly. "Projection always was your coping mechanism of choice."

The smile on Ichimaru Gin's face twisted into a confused frown. "What is that supposed to mean, Captain?"

"It means that you are feeling guilty about your own preoccupation with Matsumoto Rangiku, Gin, so you sling accusations at me to assuage your own conscious. Does that sound accurate?"

The silver-haired young man said nothing and Aizen couldn't help but smirk at his small victory. Among Aizen's innumerable talents was the ability to render his subordinates speechless with just a few choice words. He was shocked and bothered when Gin spoke up again in his most slippery voice.

"At least Lieutenant Matsumoto is still alive. It doesn't seem so shameful to think about a girl that I will be seeing again someday."

"Are you sure about that?" Aizen retorted, his malice speaking automatically for him. "Now, if you don't mind, I have an army to command."

"The Inoue girl is secured in her room," Gin said, going along with the change of subject as Aizen predicted he would. "You've already told her what she's going to do for you. It's really just a matter of waiting now."

Aizen walked in an authoritative circle around Gin and spoke thoughtfully. "Yes, it is a matter of waiting. Any day now the girl's friends, that orange-haired boy and the others, will come after her. We have to be prepared to give them a proper welcome."

Gin's face lit up gleefully. "Finally some fun."

"Oh, it will be fun," Aizen said, opening his bedroom doors and stepping outside, with Gin following after. "We will have to meet with the Espada, of course. The Exequias should be on alert as well. I am in the mood to be amused so I would like the coming fights to last as long as possible. We don't want our guests to get killed too quickly."

"And what if they come in through…?"

"Then the Privaron will finally have something to do. They've been so bored since I rendered them useless."

Gin chuckled wickedly at his master and Aizen could detect from the sound of it that he was still feeling the sting of his earlier comment. This was a good thing. Although Ichimaru Gin was Aizen's right hand man, he occasionally needed to be reminded of his place. Gin would not be making any more insolent comments regarding Hinamori Momo, and Aizen wouldn't have to feel his insides squirm uncomfortably at the mere mention of her name.

As the pair walked along the shining marble corridors of Las Noches, Aizen somehow felt the need to give the order directly and make it clear as crystal. He kept his eyes straight ahead of him when he spoke, his voice controlled and calm. "You are not to mention my lieutenant ever again, Gin, nor is anyone else in Hueco Mundo. Is that understood?"

"Why of course, Captain Aizen," Gin answered. "But why would you need to forbid it? Does it really bother you that much? You're not feeling remorse for what you did to her, are you?"

"You know that it was a mercy killing," he answered coolly. "Without me, the girl would have suffered a slow and very painful death from an irreparably broken heart. I'm not so cruel that I would wish that on her. Now I only think it's proper that we let her rest in peace."

"Oh yes, I know very well. It was mercy that pushed your sword through her body. You did it all for her sake." The sarcasm in Gin's voice was very thinly veiled.

Aizen halted. "Is there something you'd like to share, Gin?" he asked. "Perhaps you have a different interpretation of my kindly murder?"

Gin merely continued walking, letting out a strange little laugh as his only reply.

This infuriated Aizen. He closed the space between the two of them, stepping in front of Gin to stop him in his tracks, and glared at him with so much venom that the little slit eyes opened up to reveal slivers of pale ice blue.

"Tell me what you are thinking," Aizen commanded, each word as sharp as the edge of a sword.

"Well," Gin answered boldly in spite of the intimidation. "Now that the girl is dead, nobody will ever touch her. No man will ever have her. You always did regard her as your possession after all. Now she'll never belong to anyone else."

"Even if she were alive, the girl wouldn't let anyone else touch her. Her devotion was to me and me alone."

"Yes, but she wasn't always that way," Gin said in a sinister voice. "She cared about the boy captain Hitsugaya as if he were her own family. And let's not forget her dear friends from her Academy days, Abarai and my own Lieutenant, Izuru. You know how _he_ felt about her."

"He was a mere classmate of hers, a friend at best."

"He had feelings for her."

"Which she didn't return. It was completely one-sided."

Gin's trademark smile uncurled slightly and settled into an eerily serious expression. "Did you really believe that, Captain? After all, you did do everything you could to keep them apart when they were both in your 5th Division. And as soon as I was made Captain of 3rd Division, you made her your new Lieutenant and pawned that idiot off on me. Not that he wasn't amusing…"

"Get to the point, Gin," Aizen said impatiently.

"When you thought about what might happen after you betrayed her, did you imagine her seeking comfort in his arms? Imagine him holding her? Kissing her? His skinny white body pressed naked against hers as they fucked? Of course, the kind and understanding Captain Aizen could never fuck his Lieutenant. But you wouldn't let anyone else do it, either, most especially Izuru."

"That's ridiculous, Gin. She would never…"

"Yes, you say she would never let anyone else touch her. You trained her like a puppy to need only you. But deep in that sick brain of yours, you were worried. You would rather see her dead than for her to move on and love someone else."

Aizen turned around and resumed walking down the hallway. "I've heard quite enough, Gin," he said, and was surprised by how strange his own voice sounded. His jaw was clenched much tighter than he realized.

He took a few deep breaths to relax and added in a cooler tone, "we will be convening in the War Room in half an hour. Be sure to be there. Oh, and Gin…" He paused and looked back over his shoulder at the young man. "You will not talk about Miss Hinamori ever again, especially in such crude terms. That is, unless you want your dear Rangiku to meet with an unfortunate 'accident.'"

Perhaps his reaction had been needlessly cruel, but as he left Gin in his icy wake, Aizen felt quite justified. _It serves him right for making such ridiculous assumptions about my relationship with Miss Hinamori. Of course, he was wrong about me not having sex with her. It stands to reason that he would be wrong about everything else._

It suddenly occurred to Aizen that even as he was rationalizing why Gin's comments shouldn't bother him, he was feeling extremely bothered. His intention had been to rid himself any lingering thoughts of the girl, and now she was all he could think about.

"Hinamori," he said quietly to himself, just to hear the sound of her name again and feel its effect on him.

"Did… did someone just say Hinamori?" said a tiny voice that seemed to come from inside of the walls.

It hadn't really come from the wall but from a small, barred window in a large door. Aizen's stroll through the halls had delivered him right outside of Inoue Orihime's chamber.

He opened the door and stepped inside without a sound, and his prisoner let out a gasp of surprise. "It's you! I was just talking to myself. You… you heard me?"

"Indeed, I did," Aizen said smoothly. "And obviously you heard me. Orihime, how is it that you recognized the name Hinamori?"

The human girl's eyes were rolling up in her head, her whole body trembling under his flaring spiritual pressure. He had to force it down just to allow her to answer him and when she did, her voice was still shaky. "Hinamori is a girl Shinigami, right? Kind of small, with black hair and brown eyes?"

"You met her when you and your friends infiltrated Soul Society?"

"Well… no," Orihime answered. "I've never really met her. I just saw her over a video screen. A Shinigami named Hitsugaya was staying at my home and had a conversation with her."

Something erupted inside Aizen's chest, a fire that was horror and elation in equal parts. "She's alive," he said breathlessly. It wasn't a question for the girl, but a statement to himself. She answered anyways.

"Yes, she's alive. She seemed ill though."

Aizen swooped close to her. "The conversation, what was it about? What did she say?"

"She asked about you. She didn't believe that you were actually bad. She wanted Hitsugaya to save you." Through all of this she refused to look him in the eyes.

"Thank you," Aizen said. "You have been very informative."

When he left the girl's cell, the feeling that had ignited in his chest had spread to every inch of his body and was smoldering hotly. _She's alive. My Hinamori is still alive. I have no idea how she survived. Perhaps it was fate. Ah, and now I may have to modify my plans just a little bit. I'll have to act quickly, though, while her heart still longs only for me. We will be together again.  
_

* * *

From the hallway, where Aizen had left him, Gin went straight to his own private quarters. His master wasn't really mad at him. He knew this. He and Aizen actually knew each other better than either of them was perfectly comfortable with and each could deal out cutting insights into the other's twisted psyche.

They knew each other's weaknesses. Aizen's was Hinamori. Gin's was Matsumoto.

Once he was inside his room and the door was locked behind him, Gin unlocked a little cabinet that was next to his bed and pulled from it a round, saucer-sized mirror. He traced a thin finger around its edge three times and the glass surface glowed pale blue and flickered with static for a moment before a picture appeared on it.

The scene was the inside of a bedroom where a young woman in a sleeping kimono was sitting on her futon and looking out her window pensively.

Rangiku had no idea that Gin had put the device in her room, that he was watching everything she did inside. Aizen had no idea, either. The spying was definitely something that he would not approve of.

She would dress, brush her long hair, read, sleep, nothing particularly exciting. But he had to watch her, just to know that she was still there, breathing, continuing her life every day. His mind was just as consumed by thoughts of her as Aizen's was by thoughts of Hinamori.

Gin had gotten so used to Rangiku's usual solo routine that when a new character entered the scene, he rubbed his foxy eyes just to make sure they were working correctly. The young woman had stepped out for only a few minutes, but when she returned she was no longer alone. More shocking than that, however, was the identity of her guest, whom Gin recognized immediately as his former lieutenant, Kira Izuru.

Jealousy, like acid, churned in Gin's stomach as he watched the skinny blond boy talking to Rangiku and he cursed the fact that the device he'd installed did not transmit audio. The conversation was personal, their body language said that much. Then, in the time it took Gin to blink his eyes, she had her face buried in his shoulder. Izuru's arms were wrapped around her, his hands rubbing her back.

The very scenario he'd just accused Aizen of fearing was now glaring at him from that saucer-sized mirror. It was happening at that moment in Soul Society. The excruciating jealousy and possessiveness he'd ascribed to Aizen was now piercing his own chest like a knife. His gut reaction, however, was not the one that his captain seemed to have had.

_I'll kill him… I will kill Kira Izuru…_

To be continued…


	6. Help

Free Talk- After much agonizing, I have finished this chapter. It's kind of long and has a lot of Momo's inner thoughts. I decided to leave the rating back at T until I get to the sexy parts, which may take a while (there's still at least two more chapters before that). I still do intend to write the night when Momo got pregnant. It's kinda strange though. This story is becoming more and more KiraHina emotionally, but it's still going to include an AiHina "love" scene. For the record, I already have my idea for the story I will write after this one. It's going to he AiHina, but that's all I'll say. I won't be writing it for a while probably. I hope people enjoy this new chapter. I am kinda nervous about it, because it's long and introspective. Please tell me what you think, and as always, thank you so much for the support.

**In A Family Way**  
By Miss Angel Maxwell

* * *

Chapter 6: Help

* * *

An exhilarating flutter of life filled Momo's belly as tiny arms and legs flailed exuberantly inside of her. She placed both her small hands on her hugely rounded stomach and another pair, larger and rougher, but very warm, slid over them from behind. 

"She's very active today," a low and gentle voice spoke.

"She?" Momo replied curiously. "Yesterday you were sure it was a little boy, Captain."

Aizen laughed and kissed her on the top of her head. "Did I really?"

Momo turned around and leaned against his strong body, looking up for a moment at the kind brown eyes twinkling behind his glasses before burying her face in the soft black folds of his uniform. "My Captain once again. You have no idea how happy it made me when you came back to me… to us."

"Of course I came back," he said. "There's no reason for you to sound so sad. Are you crying?"

"They're happy tears," she insisted, "very happy tears! I love you so much!"

Aizen held her close with one hand while the other combed through her hair, which hung loose around her shoulders. "Yes, I know that you love me," he said soothingly. "I'm the only one that you love, aren't I? The only one that you need?"

"Oh… yes… of course," Momo said.

"You hesitated," Aizen replied, and Momo felt his embrace tighten slightly, possessively. "Is there somebody else you love? Perhaps something happened while I was away," he said smoothly, "something involving Lieutenant Kira?"

"I… I already told you about Izuru," she replied. "He just pretended to be my boyfriend to protect me and the baby. It was all just an act."

Aizen's voice, which had been so warm just minutes ago, grew frostier with each word he spoke. "Izuru, is it? Oh, that's right. You call him by his first name now."

"He's my friend." As malice crept into Aizen's tone, fear crept into Momo's. "He's my best friend, Captain."

"I wonder if it _really_ was all just an act. Why, of all the Shinigami in Soul Society, did you choose Kira Izuru?"

"I didn't choose him. He acted on his own. He stepped in and came up with that story for my safety!"

"Ah, and you went along with it gladly. You spent all your time with him, held his hand, started calling him by his first name. After so many weeks of pretending to be lovers, pretending he's the father of the child growing in your belly, _my_ child… did you really never feel anything more than friendship for him?"

"I…" Momo began. The arms snared around her body were now holding her so tightly that the kicking baby pressed into her diaphragm and made it hard to breathe. She struggled against his hold, loosening herself enough to look up directly at his face, but gasped in horror at the man that stared back at her. "C-Captain…?"

Aizen looked completely different. His glasses had vanished, as had any trace of kindness in his eyes. His wavy hair was swept back, accenting his cruel new appearance. Not only had he somehow managed to change his hairstyle while holding her, but he had changed his entire outfit, from his black Shinigami uniform into clothes that were pure white.

"You… you can't be Captain Aizen! You just… can't! You aren't him!" The sudden surge of fear in her gave Momo enough strength to break free from his arms.

For a fraction of a second the dark version just looked at her, smiling. "Thank you," he said, causing a sudden twinge of déjà vu to shoot through her. "Goodbye."

There was a glint of silver and Momo, in rush of inexplicably instinctive terror, wrapped her arms around her stomach protectively. For some reason, she knew that she and her baby were about to die and that she didn't have time to escape. She closed her eyes, spilling the tears that had been forming there down her cheeks. A pained croak of her name triggered them to open once again.

"Momo…"

"I… Izuru!" she gasped in horror. Right in front of her, the death Momo anticipated had been absorbed instead by her blond friend. The glistening red blade of Kyouka Suigetsu protruded obscenely from his back and dripped blood into a spreading puddle around his feet.

The evil Aizen's face remained cold and pitiless as he twisted his zanpakutou in the young man's chest and yanked it out with one fluid motion. Izuru swayed on his feet for a few moments and Momo was torn between rushing to steady him and confronting Aizen with shouts of "why?"

When her friend finally began to fall, however, her mind was made up for her. She caught him as he toppled and eased him onto the ground. "Izuru…" she whimpered, sweeping his bangs off his face. "Say something… so I know that you're okay…" Air rasped in and out of his blood-filled mouth and then stopped. His eyes were fixed and glassy. "Nooooooooo!" Momo wailed. "Izuru! Izuru!"

Loudly gulping lungful after lungful of air, Momo bolted upright in her futon. She was back in her bedroom, dawn light spilling onto her from the window. Her sweat-drenched kimono clung to her skin and between breaths she asked herself aloud, "What… was I… dreaming?"

She strained her mind to try and remember what the dream had been about. _Just like yesterday, I've forgotten as soon as I'm awake._ She remembered feeling terrified and could feel her heart still pounding in her chest, but all the details of the dream had vanished, all except for one.

_In the dream, I felt the baby kicking…_

She slipped her hand into her damp kimono and touched her stomach, which was just barely starting to change. It was far too early for her to actually feel anything.

_I must have been dreaming that I was a lot further along, close to giving birth. That should have been a very happy dream. But that feeling when I woke up… that fear, like someone I love was in grave danger… Why would I have that kind of fear if I was dreaming about the baby?_

The implications washed over Momo like a cascade of icy water and her heart sped up again. "In my dream," she uttered to herself, "something terrible must have happened to the baby! What if…? What if the dream…? No! That's ridiculous! Dreams are just dreams. They don't predict the future or anything like that."

Despite her self-reassurance, Momo still couldn't relax. While her right hand stayed protectively on her stomach, her left went up to her forehead where Izuru had kissed her the night before and his kind words came back to her. _"You can talk to me, about anything. I… I just wanted you to know that."_

Maybe it was because she had been spending so much time with him lately and had gotten so used to his company, but just the thought of consulting Izuru about the dream made her feel comforted. She imagined him holding her hand and felt her whole body grow warmer.

_He's my friend. He's my best friend. It's normal for me to think of him like that._

Momo skipped breakfast because her stomach was upset and got dressed quickly, the whole time trying hard not to think about the nightmare she couldn't truly remember. Her plan was to find Izuru right away, which usually wasn't very hard, and get it immediately off her chest and out of her mind.

She started towards his house at a normal walking pace, but by the time it was within sight she was practically running. After several loud bangs on his door with no response from inside, she tried calling out his name.

"Izuru! Izuru, it's Momo! Wake up, you sleepyhead!"

When there was still no response, she concluded that he must already be up and out, which wasn't completely unusual. He probably went early to 3rd Division headquarters to get some work done. For a few more minutes she stood outside of his house, debating whether to go looking for him now or wait until later, when she would inevitably see him. Before she had made up her mind, however, she heard voices approaching and instinctively ducked behind a shrub.

"Thank you for taking a walk with me." It was Rangiku's voice. "Talking about all this with somebody, with you, Kira… It helps."

"I'm glad I could," Izuru answered, in a tone Momo had only heard him use towards her. "Well, it looks like we've reached my house. I'm sure I will see you later, though. And if you need to talk again, I'm here."

"Okay," she said. "Wait… What about Momo? Should we tell her?"

Izuru didn't answer the question right away. He and Rangiku were now right outside his door, less than a meter from where Momo was crouching perfectly still and holding her breath so that she wouldn't give her hiding place away.

"No," Izuru finally said. "It would just upset her and that's definitely not something she needs right now."

"She's going to ask me why I was crying yesterday. She's such a sensitive girl, always worrying about people. What should I tell her?"

"I guess you'll have to make something up," Izuru said, "something that won't make her get suspicious or worry."

"I'll start thinking about it now."

Through the leaves of the shrub she was hiding in, Momo could see the pair saying goodbye to each other. Then Izuru embraced Rangiku tightly and patted her back soothingly. After several seconds they parted and she walked away and he went inside his house, neither of them having noticed the girl in the bushes.

Momo's heart was pounding but her body felt strangely numb._  
_

_Izuru… Izuru likes Rangiku. I had no idea. The way he talked to her, the way he hugged her just now… he's in love with her! And last night she started crying when she heard that we were dating… Rangiku is in love with him, too! _

She stood up dazedly and started walking away, her mind still twisting around the revelation she had just learned.

"Momo?"

She spun around at the sound of her voice and saw that Izuru was reemerging from his front door.

"Did you come here to see me?" he asked, smiling.

"I… uh… well, yes. But it's not really important. You probably have a lot of work to do, so I'll just talk to you later."

"Are you sure? You know I can always make time to talk to you, Momo."

"I know," she said. "I know. But… like I said, it's not important. I think I might go get a little more sleep today."

"Oh, okay. Do you want to have lunch together later?"

"I dunno, I'll think about it." Then, without letting Izuru get another word in, she said goodbye and started back briskly towards her own home. Her heart had not slowed down at all during the short conversation.

She couldn't bring herself to tell him about the dream. How could she talk to him about something like that, knowing what she did now?_  
_

_I'm the reason why they can't be together… I'm the only thing standing in the way of their happiness. Because Izuru is such a good friend and lied to protect me, he sacrificed his chance to be with the woman he really loves. They don't want to upset me because I'm pregnant…_

While her mind was preoccupied, Momo's body had made it back to her home by muscle memory. Once inside, she shut the door and collapse against it, emotionally spent. She reached up and touched her cheek. It was wet. She didn't even realize that she had been crying.

_What can I even do? It would be too suspicious if we staged a break up. Plus, Shiro would kill him. And Izuru would never go along with it… He's too kind… No! I can't take advantage of his kindness anymore. Not when his heart longs for another woman…_

Momo felt a sudden twinge in her chest. Why did thinking those words cause such an acute sensation? Even if Izuru didn't love Rangiku, he was still just a friend to Momo. They were only pretending to be lovers. Her heart belonged to Captain Aizen.

_I just want him to be happy, she assured herself. I want Izuru to be able to be with Rangiku just like I want Captain Aizen to come back and be with me. I should let them spend more time together. Even if I still have to be his "girlfriend" in public, I'll keep my distance as best I can… so I won't hurt either of them. I know he said I could talk to him about anything, but I promise I won't burden him with my problems anymore._

Although she had made up her mind about what to do, something inside her still ached.

Over the days that followed, Momo did all she could to keep the promise she had made to herself. Although she was quite good at coming up with excuses not to see him, she couldn't completely avoid spending time with Izuru. After all, they had to maintain the public illusion that they were a real couple. In those instances when she simply couldn't distance herself from him physically, she did so emotionally instead, avoiding direct eye contact or personal conversation. She withdrew even the level of intimacy she'd given him in their school years.

Her change in behavior was unperceived by everyone else. As far as the other members of Soul Society knew, they were still a blissful couple, spending all their time intimately together behind closed doors. In reality, Momo was spending that time in her home, alone. Izuru himself didn't seem to be suspicious either. His mind was probably much too filled with thoughts of his beloved to notice.

Momo's mind, meanwhile, was consumed by other things. She worried about the baby and the dream she'd had, and about the mission to Hueco Mundo. She worried about Aizen. These were things that would be on her mind no matter what, but without Izuru to depend on, they built up and melded into one huge nameless dread. Without Izuru, the days became a dreary blur.

Walking alone through a dark back alley towards the library, she wondered how many days had gone by. Had it been weeks? A month? Her stomach felt bigger. She wouldn't be able to hide the baby much longer.

Somewhere ahead of her there was movement in the shadows, probably a stray cat or dog. The reason she'd chosen this path was because no Shinigami used it and she was sure not to run into Izuru. Still, she held her breath as she approached the spot where there had been stirring and then walked past. When nothing happened, she released her breath in a sigh.

Then something grabbed hold of her arm from behind and she nearly leapt out of her skin.

"Momo!"

She turned around and there he was.

"I-Izuru? How did you find me here? I didn't think you knew this path."

"I didn't until now," he said. "I've been following you, Momo."

"Following me? Why have you been following me?" She determinedly avoided looking directly at his face as she spoke.

"Did you really think I hadn't noticed?" he asked. "For the last three weeks you've been like a completely different person. You keep avoiding me. And when we are together, you barely even speak to me. Did I do something wrong?"

The concern in Izuru's voice was almost unbearable for Momo to listen to. "Of course not," she said. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Well then what's troubling you?" he asked. "And don't say 'nothing.' You may be able to convince everyone else that you're okay, but I can tell that you're upset. Matsumoto has noticed, too."

Something prickled painfully in Momo's heart. "You… you've been spending a lot of time with her lately. You should call her Rangiku."

"Uh," Izuru said, sounding surprised. "Yeah, I guess I have been hanging out with her more than I used to. I wouldn't say it's a lot, though… Hey! You're just trying to change the subject, Momo!"

"There's nothing to talk about," she muttered.

"Yes there is," he said. "This started after the night we had drinks with Renji, so I think I have an idea what it's about. It's the mission, isn't it? You're scared that Aizen will be… that he'll be defeated. I meant what I said, you know, you can talk to me about anything… even Aizen. Don't keep it bottled up inside of you. Don't suffer alone."_  
_

_He has no idea that I know about him and Rangiku. He's still acting like I'm the most important person to him, even though we're all alone. There's nobody to fool here. Why does he have to be like that? After I've been so cold to him recently… And why is my heart…? _

"I'm fine!" she stammered, not allowing her brain to complete its previous thought. "You don't have to waste your time worrying about me! I'm not your real girlfriend! So just… just leave me alone!"

The words were like fire pouring out of her mouth, searing her insides. She wanted him to stop acting like he really cared about her, stop making her heart beat strangely. Chest heaving, eyelids stinging, she finally looked him in the eyes. He had the face of a scolded child.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I guess I was overreacting to you just wanting more privacy in your life. I'll give you your space if that's what you want. But if you change your mind and do want to talk, I'm always here for you."

Then he reached out his hand and Momo was sure that he was going to place it on her head the way Captain Aizen did. But he didn't. Izuru just patted her shoulder, smiled weakly, and then turned around a walked away, leaving her with an odd feeling of disappointment.

She stood there in the alley for a minute or two, staring at the place where her friend had just disappeared. Was he still her friend?

_What is Izuru to me?_

As she pondered the question, her hand touched her forehead. It had been three weeks since he kissed her, but she could still imagine his lips on her skin. She remembered it as clearly as she remembered Captain Aizen's body pressed against hers.

Suddenly the alleyway seemed chokingly narrow and she had to get out. She hurtled through what seemed like an endless empty tunnel of twists and turns. Her work in the library completely forgotten, Momo headed for the place she had gone the last time she had felt this distressed, the one place where she had felt completely safe.

A half-dozen paper seals were pasted across the door to Captain Aizen's house that would tear if the door were opened. On each was written the same warning: Scene under investigation, access restricted until released.

Momo only hesitated for less than second before wrenching the door open, ripping the seals. Then she stepped inside and slid the door shut behind her.

The investigation, completed many weeks ago and then forgotten, had transformed Captain Aizen's home into a place that she barely recognized. Anything that Soul Society felt might give any insights into Aizen's motives or plans had been confiscated, including all of his writings and his extensive personal library. Everything else had been tossed into boxes and heaped alongside the large empty bookcases.

"What have they done to your home, Captain Aizen?" Momo whispered to herself as she ran her fingers through a think carpet of dust on one of the bookshelves. It had been a while since anyone had been in here.

Something hanging out of one of the boxes caught her eye and she tugged it out. It was the yellow and black stripped jacket that he had draped around her the night she came to see him. She held it against her face and hungrily breathed in the very faint lingering scent of Captain Aizen. Even the smallest trace of his fragrance was enough to calm her heart.

"I love Captain Aizen," she whispered to herself. "So why can't I stop thinking about Izuru? Why does it make my heart ache to think of him loving Rangiku? Why were the three weeks I tried to stay away from him the most miserable weeks of my life?"

She dropped to her knees and continued to inhale her Captain's smell.

_Captain Aizen… You wrapped me in this jacket when I needed comfort. We made love that night. We made a child together… Captain I need you now. I need you to come back. If you were here I wouldn't be thinking about Izuru. I wouldn't have to. You and I would be a family, Izuru would be with Rangiku, and I would never know that he could make me feel so…_

All of the sudden, something throbbed sharply inside her, but it wasn't her heart. She clutched helplessly at her stomach as the terror of her old dream filled her, pushing all other thoughts out of her head. The pain quickly grew so excruciating that she couldn't stand, couldn't move. Her whole body curled up in pain on the floor.

"No… no… no… This can't… be happening…" she whimpered weakly. She felt something warm and wet between her legs and managed to slip her hand into her hakama. When she pulled it out, there was blood on her fingers. The last thing she saw before she lost consciousness was red.

To be continued…


	7. Do You Want To Know A Secret?

Free Talk- Okay, this chapter took a long time to finish. It's the longest one so far, but for some reason it still feels too brief to me. The unfortunate truth is that I have been having major writer's block with this story. I really don't know what direction I am going to take it, so I have decided to put this story on hiatus and start working on something else that has been in my head. It's an AU, which is new for me, but it's Aizen/Hinamori, which is my old standard. Don't know how writing will go, though. I need to work on some other stuff in my life. But I have rambled on. I hope you all like this new chapter, where we finally hear Rangiku's secret (though I know a lot of you have figured it out already). Hopefully some new ideas will come to me soon. Thank you so much for the support. Please tell me what you think. **  
**

**In A Family Way**  
By Miss Angel Maxwell

* * *

Chapter 7: Do You Want To Know A Secret?

* * *

The air in the alleyway grew cold all around Izuru as he walked away from Momo. He had wanted to touch her gently on the top of her head and comfort her, but remembered that it was how Aizen used to reassure her and backed off, putting his hand on her shoulder instead. He wasn't Aizen and he never would be. He would never be able to heal Momo's heart the way he once did.

_All her strange behavior lately is because I have been trying to get too close to her. But that's good. It's good for me to be reminded that I'm not really her boyfriend, that she'll never… love me. I have to just repress these… Oomph! What the…?_

Izuru had been looking pensively at his feet as he was walking and didn't see Rangiku until he bumped into her, and it wasn't until several more seconds had passed that he realized what part of her he'd collided with.

"Oh, Matsumoto… I'm sorry! I, uh, I didn't mean to run into your… well, to run into you. I wasn't watching where I was going and… I swear it was an accident!"

"I believe you," she said with a little smile. "You're definitely not the type of guy who walks into a woman's boobs on purpose. So, what's got you so distracted that you can't keep your eyes on the road, Kira?"

As Izuru calmed down he felt the embarrassment drain from his face and released a small sigh. He answered her with a single word, "Momo."

"Momo?" Rangiku asked curiously. "Were you able to talk to her? Ask her what's been going on?"

"Yeah," said Izuru glumly.

"And?" Rangiku urged.

"And she didn't seem like she wanted to talk to me," he said. "Actually, I got the feeling she was mad at me about something… I don't know what I could have done to make her avoid me for weeks and then yell at me when I ask her about it."

Rangiku gave him a sympathetic look. "You know it probably has nothing to do with you. I can't imagine anything you did could have made her mad. You've shown her nothing but kindness these past months."

"I think that might be the problem," he sighed. "I've been trying to get too close to her too soon."

"You mean while she's still mourning Aizen?"

"She's not mourning him. She truly believes that Aizen is going to come back to her. Pretending that she and I are together wasn't her choice. It was forced on her. And now… now…" His voice began to crack.

"Okay, you have to calm down," Rangiku told him. "She knows that you're there for her as a friend, right?"

"I told her she could talk to me about anything," he answered.

"Maybe all she needs is just a little more time, Kira. Try talking to her again in a few days."

"Maybe you should talk to her instead," he said. "Maybe she'd be more open to talk about it with another woman."

"I dunno, she's kind of been avoiding me, as well. She never even asked me why I was crying that night. But… she probably just needs a little more time, like I said before."

"Yeah, I hope so," said Izuru, though his voice contained little hope. "I'm gonna go back home. I guess I'll talk to you later, Matsumoto."

"Goodbye, Kira."

Rangiku's farewell drifted after him as he trudged back to his house, all the while worrying about Momo. Being told to calm down by Matsumoto was good advice that he just couldn't follow.

_I want to help her. I want to make her feel safe without making her uncomfortable. I know, Matsumoto is probably right. Momo just needs a little more time to herself. But I can't shake this feeling… this feeling that something else is wrong…_

As soon as he was inside he slumped himself over his desk and, ignoring the 3rd Division performance logs he was supposed to review, continued to contemplate Momo's recent behavior.

_It came on so suddenly, this change in her… literally overnight… I understand if she doesn't want me getting too close, but it just doesn't add up… That morning she came to my house to tell me something but she never actually said it. What could have made her…?_

Sheer physical terror, a feeling like an enormous fist was strangling his stomach, suddenly punctuated Izuru's train of thought.

"Momo!"

It made no logical sense. Lately he couldn't even tell what was going on inside of Momo's head when she was standing right in front of him. But somehow, without any idea where she was, he knew that she was in peril right now.

"Momo! I… Hang on! I'm coming!"

He leapt to his feet and exploded out of his front door, shouting her name as he sprinted through the city. Shinigami stared at him as he ran but he barely noticed them. His eyes were primed only for her sweet face, his ears only for her voice.

_I don't know how I can be so sure, but I am! Something bad happened to her! I can feel it in the pit of my stomach! But what? What could have happened? And where is she?_

After scouring the library and sweeping twice through the back alley where he'd encountered her before with no sign of Momo, Izuru knew he would have to put more thought into his search. He skidded to a stop, panting loudly, in the exact spot where he had confronted her less than an hour earlier.

_She was upset… She would want to go someplace where she felt safe and happy… Maybe the 5__th__ Division offices? No, there would be other Shinigami in there. Momo would want to go to a place where she could be alone, somewhere private. Private… like Aizen's private quarters!_

He had never run so fast in his life.

To his relief and horror, the seals on Aizen's door had all been torn. Inside, his worst fears were confirmed. Crumpled in a pitiful little heap on the dusty floor was Momo, her limp hands still tangled up in Aizen's old jacket.

"Momo! Oh shit! Momo, wake up!"

He fell at her side shook her but she didn't move. Without wasting any more of the precious seconds that could mean life or death for Momo, he scooped her up in his arms and practically flew to the 4th Division Infirmary with her.

Captain Unohana and Lieutenant Isane were quietly sipping tea together when Izuru burst in. "Lieutenant Kira?" the captain asked, seeming only slightly surprised until her eyes settled on the bundle in his arms. "Lieutenant Hinamori! Kira, what happened to her?"

"I don't know!" he wailed. "I found her in… in her house, passed out! I don't know what happened to her but you have to save her! Please! You have to save Momo's life!"

Both 4th Division officers rushed over to Izuru and as he gently transferred her to Unohana, Momo twitched and muttered a in a weak voice a single word, "…baby…"

"She said something!" Izuru cried hopefully, still half holding the girl. "You heard it, right? She said 'baby!' Momo! Momo, are you awake? Did something happen to the baby?"

There was no response from Momo, but Unohana, with a grave expression, said "Isane."

Izuru felt the lieutenant pull him away, but his eyes were still on Momo, still desperately waiting for her to wake up and answer him.

"She's breathing," Unohana said, urgently. "But we have to hurry and get her back to the examining room. Take Lieutenant Kira to the waiting room and then join me as quickly as you can."

"Waiting room?" he protested. "No! I want to stay with her! Please, let me stay by Momo's side! I lo… She's very important to me!"

"I know," said the captain in a very motherly tone. "But you're still not allowed in the examining room." She pulled the yellow jacket out of Momo's loose grasp and handed it to Izuru. "You should probably put this back where it came from." Then she and her patient disappeared quickly through a pair of doors.

"I'll show you where you can wait, Kira," Isane said very gently and calmly. "Don't worry. The Captain will take care of Lieutenant Hinamori. She's going to be okay."

"Yeah," Izuru breathed reflexively. He hadn't actually processed Isane's reassurance as he stared at the doors that Unohana had passed through. He didn't budge from where he stood until he was physically shepherded away to the waiting room.

There was no clock in the infirmary waiting room, so Izuru had no idea how long he sat in the uncomfortable wooden chair, every muscle tensed, staring at his hands as they twisted Aizen's jacket and waiting for news about Momo. His skin was glazed in nervous perspiration and his breaths were shallow.

_I shouldn't have left her in that alley… I knew something was wrong and I left her all alone. I let this happen to her…_

"Lieutenant Kira?" The sound of Captain Unohana's voice broke through Izuru's worrying and when he looked up, she was standing in front him wearing an unreadable expression.

"Is Momo…?" he began in a quavering voice.

"She's stabilized," Unohana said. "She's still sleeping, but you can come back and see her if you want."

Izuru's body unclenched and his lungs released the air they had been holding in as the captain spoke. "Stabilized… That means she's going to be okay, right?"

"She'll be fine," said Unohana, smiling. "Come on, Lieutenant, follow me."

He stood up and followed her, out of the waiting room and down a long hallway. For several steps he was still swimming in relief over Momo's prognosis, but after the good news had settled, new anxiety bubbled up inside of him. Captain Unohana didn't explain what had actually happened to Momo. She didn't mention the baby at all. Was that an indication of good news or bad news?

Nervously spreading his lips to ask, Izuru found that his mouth was hot and sticky and the words were hard to form. Before he managed to get any out, Unohana stopped in front of a door and he realized that it must be Momo's room.

"Before you go inside, let me just brief you on Lieutenant Hinamori's condition," Unohana said, as if responding to the question that Izuru was about to ask. "When you brought her here she was having contractions and some uterine bleeding, which I've managed to stop. It seems she was already in ill health due to anemia and exhaustion. Has she been eating enough and getting plenty of sleep?"

"I… don't know," he answered, looking shamefully downward. "I guess I haven't really been paying much attention…"

"She's going to have to take it a lot easier from now on," said the captain. "It doesn't have to be complete bed rest, but she will probably have to cut way back on her work until she delivers. Too much stress could cause her to go into premature labor."

Izuru felt a great swelling of joy inside his chest. The baby was alright. It startled him how happy the news made him. After all, it wasn't even his child.

Captain Unohana opened the door. "I'll let you have some time alone with her, but I'll send Isane to check up on her a little later." After Izuru had stepped inside, she closed the door behind him to give him some privacy with the sleeping girl.

Momo looked so tiny in the infirmary bed, which had been built big enough to accommodate much larger Shinigami. Her sleep appeared peaceful, though, her chest rising and falling with slow, deep breaths. Izuru noticed a stool next to her bedside that had been placed there just for him and he took a seat. He wanted to hold her hand but realized he was still clutching Aizen's jacket, which he hastily stowed under the bed.

"Momo," he sighed, taking her tiny, warm hand in his. "You're all right. You're safe. I don't know what I would have done if you… or if the baby…" Just thinking about what could have happened made his body shake and his heart pound so loud it seemed to be coming from outside of the room, growing louder and faster like footfalls. This wasn't the sound of his heart.

The door to the room burst open and Rangiku flew in, white-faced and panting. "I just heard," she said in a fear stricken voice, "that Momo had collapsed. I ran all the way here. Kira, is she…?"

"She's fine," he said.

"What about the baby?" Rangiku asked.

"The baby is…"

"Nnn… Izu… ru…" Both Izuru and Rangiku remained perfectly still and silent as Momo muttered groggily and wriggled beneath the bed sheets. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Hi," Izuru said sweetly.

"Hi," she responded softly. "You're here. Am I… in the infirmary?"

"That's right," he answered. "Do you remember what happened to you?" He looked away nervously. "At Captain Aizen's house?"

"At Captain Aizen's…" She repeated the question to herself, forehead scrunched in concentration as she tried to remember. Her face suddenly went pale. "Oh my god! No! I remember! I felt a really sharp pain in my stomach, and then there was blood… No! No! No! NO!" She had broken down and was practically sobbing now. "I had miscarriage! I lost the baby!"

Izuru squeezed her hand tightly. "You didn't have a miscarriage, Momo." He placed her hand over her belly. "The baby is still in there. It's still alive."

"The baby is really okay?" she asked, trembling with relief.

"Yeah," he said. Exchanging tender smiles, his hand over hers, over the baby, it felt like they were the only people in all of Soul Society, until Momo noticed the other woman in the room.

"Rangiku…" There was something strange about her voice when she said it.

"Hey, Momo," Rangiku said. "How are you feeling?"

"I think I'm feeling alright. What… what are you doing here?"

"I came here to see you," she said kindly. "Because I was worried about you, of course."

"You guys were really worried about me?" Momo asked as if she actually couldn't believe it. "Even though… even though I'm the reason you two can't be together?"

Brow furrowed, eyes blinking in confusion, Izuru was about to ask for an explanation, but Rangiku beat him to it.

"What do you mean,_together_?" she asked. "Together… like as a couple?"

"Well, yeah," Momo said looking down shyly. "You don't have to hide it from me. I know you two are in love. I saw you walking together when I went to your house a couple of weeks ago… And then I realized why Rangiku started crying after she heard that we were dating. It all made perfect sense."

Momo's words and the absolute sincerity with which she said them floored Izuru. He wasn't sure how to even begin correcting her, especially when he still had questions to ask. "When did you see us walking together? You mean that time you were waiting outside my door?"

"That's right," said Momo, somewhat sheepishly. "I kinda got to your house before you came home and when I saw you with Rangiku I hid in the bushes. But I heard you talking about how you didn't want to tell me about your relationship because it would upset me. That's why I've tried to give you two more space…"

"Wait, _that's_why you've been acting strange?" Izuru asked, baffled. "Because you think Matsumoto and I are having a secret affair?"

"Well, I…" Momo began but was cut off by Rangiku, who pounced on the girl and wrapped her in an enthusiastic embraced.

"Oh, Momo! You sweet, adorably clueless girl!"

Izuru couldn't help smiling at Momo's stunned face as the older girl squeezed her against her enormous breasts. "Don't hug her too hard," he urged. "She's still recovering."

When Rangiku finally let go, she smiled sweetly at Momo, looking like she might start to cry. "Kira isn't in love with me," she said. "And I'm not in love with him. There's nothing romantic between us."

"There… there isn't?" Momo said, her voice sounding strangely relieved. "Then why have you two been spending so much time together? Why were you crying?"

Rangiku looked over at Izuru, asking him with her expression if it was all right for her to tell Momo the truth. He answered her with a tiny nod and she turned back to the patient. "Momo, the reason I cried when I heard that you were going to have a baby is that two weeks before the ryoka invaded Soul Society I lost my baby."

"Your baby?" Momo squeaked. "Rangiku, you were pregnant? I… I had no idea…"

"Nobody did," Rangiku said softly. "I didn't tell anybody I was pregnant. Not even Gin…"

Momo looked down shyly. "So… Captain Ichimaru was the father?" Rangiku closed her eyes and nodded and Momo looked up at her. "What happened?" she asked delicately.

"It went away," Rangiku said in a detached voice. "One morning I felt this really sharp pain in my stomach, started bleeding, and that was it. Captain Unohana said there was nothing she could do about it."

"I remember going to the 10th Division headquarters to see Shiro one day," Momo said, "and he told me that you were really sick in the infirmary. Was that…?"

"Yeah," Rangiku breathed. "As far as anyone else knew, it was a bad case of food poisoning. Only Captain Unohana knew the truth. And later, Lieutenant Kira."

Momo's brow furrowed slightly. "How… how did Izuru find out?"

The older woman gave a very small smile and combed her fingers through her hair. "After Gin and… and the other captains left, Kira and I went on a little drinking binge and I guess I had a bit too much and it slipped out."

"So that's the thing you guys didn't want to tell me about?" Momo asked. "The thing you thought might upset me?"

"Well, yeah," Izuru said soothingly, rubbing Momo's shoulder. "You're pregnant, Momo. You don't need to be reminded of what can go wrong… what_did_ go wrong for someone close to you."

Izuru saw Momo's mouth open to speak again, but Rangiku began talking first. "Don't worry about not being able to comfort me. And I know that's what you were about to say. Kira has been a really good support for me. Like a brother."

She seemed to put a lot of emphasis on the last sentence.

"That's the reason why we've been spending time together lately," Izuru said.

"The only reason," Rangiku said. "But now you know the truth too, so you won't be left out anymore. I know you'll be there for me, Momo. And I'll be there for you."

"And I'm still here for you, too, of course," Izuru added. "Momo, you know I…"

He hadn't really thought about what he was going to say and was actually relieved when Lieutenant Isane bustled into the room. "Oh, how wonderful to see you awake and alert, Lieutenant Hinamori! How are you feeling? You're not having any more abdominal pain, are you?"

"Not at all," Momo replied. "I'm feeling much better, still a little tired, though."

"Well, you're going to have to take it easy for a while," Isane continued. "Someone else will have to take over most of your 5th Division duties until the baby is born. And you'll need plenty of rest and relaxation and good food. You have to put your health first."

"I… I'll do my best…" Momo said timidly. "But what if… what if something else goes wrong?"

"Well…" Isane began, sounding unsure of how to answer.

"You could move in with me," Izuru blurted out. "If you lived with me, Momo, I could look out for you and the baby. And if something went wrong, I'd be right there."

Momo blinked up at him, totally shocked. "You… you want me to live with you, Izuru?"

"I… I do," Izuru said. He hadn't planned to invite Momo to live with him; the words had just bubbled out. But now he realized that the offer, however spur-of-the-moment, was completely sincere. He wanted Momo to live with him and waited nervously for her response.

She answered slowly and thoughtfully. "I think that would be a great idea."

"Really?" Izuru asked eagerly.

"Yeah," she said, a smile spreading on her pink lips. "I like the idea of knowing that I won't be all alone in my house. And I know you'll take care of me better than anyone else could."

"I promise I will," Izuru said, lifting up one of her hands and giving it a firm squeeze as he pressed his mouth to her knuckles. Though he was looking at Momo, he could see Rangiku grinning at them through the corner of his vision.

"Sounds like you two have got a good plan," Isane chirped. "Now, I'm afraid I have to ask you to step outside for a moment, Lieutenants Kira and Matsumoto. I need to give Hinamori a quick physical examination."

After being ushered out the door, Izuru found himself and Rangiku alone in the infirmary hallway. After a brief pause, he spoke. "Thank you for not telling Momo that you and I kissed while we were drunk."

"Oh, no problem," Rangiku said. "You were totally wasted, Kira, you even called me…"

"And you were sad over Captain Ichimaru leaving," he interrupted. He could feel his cheeks growing warm just thinking about the end of Matsumoto's question and quickly changed the subject. "So, would you be interested in helping me get Momo moved?"

"Of course," she said, now grinning broadly. "I am so happy for you. You and Momo are going to be living together. You must be so excited."

Izuru rubbed the back of his head anxiously. "Yeah, well, it doesn't mean anything, it's just so she won't be alone. You know she's still only got eyes for Aizen. She's having his baby."

"Hey, he's gone and you're here," Rangiku said encouragingly. "And soon you'll be spending every day with her, sharing your home with her."

"Yeah?" Izuru said hopefully.

"Yeah! It will give you two plenty of opportunities to grow closer. And maybe you'll get a chance to tell her what you told me that drunken evening, that you've been head-over-heels in love with her since you were in school together."

To be continued…


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